Icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles

ABSTRACT

An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles in which the icing material in an enclosed container is pressurized by compressed air, propelling the material up through a hose line and through the hollow handle into the gun barrel. A pressurebalanced valve arrangement in the gun includes a plunger passing out through the rear of the barrel with a convoluted flexible cylindrical bellows surrounding this plunger and extending between it and the rear of the barrel. This plunger is connected by a valve control rod to a tapered valve member movable within a nose cone and coacting with an apertured barrier for controlling the stream of icing material discharged from an interchangeable conical tip. Anti-drip clean shut off action occurs because the tapered valve member pulls back on the icing material in the nose cone whenever the trigger lever is released to shut off the flow. Toggle clamps permit ready access to the pressurizable container.

United States Patent [191 Miles 1 1 Feb/18,1975- 1 1 ICING GUN SYSTEMFOR DECORATING CONFECTIONARY ARTICLES [76] Inventor: George N. Miles,Silvermine Ave.,

Norwalk, Conn. 06850 [22] Filed: Nov. 5, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 412,964

Primary Examiner-Lloyd L. King Attorney, Agent, or FirmBryan, Parmelee,Johnson & Bollinger [57] ABSTRACT An icing gun system for decoratingconfectionary articles in which the icing material in an enclosedcontainer is pressurized by compressed air, propelling the material upthrough a hose line and through the hollow handle into the gun barrel. Apressure-balanced valve arrangement in the gun includes a plungerpassing out through the rear of the barrel with a convoluted flexiblecylindrical bellows surrounding this plunger and extending between itand the rear of the barrel. This plunger is connected by a valve controlrod to a tapered valve member movable within a nose cone and coactingwith an apertured barrier for controlling the stream of icing materialdischarged from an interchangeable conical tip. Anti-drip clean shut offaction occurs because the tapered valve member pulls back on the icingmaterial in the nose cone whenever the trigger lever is released to shutoff the flow. Toggle clamps permit ready access to the pressurizablecontainer.

'12 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTED F551 8 i975 v SHEET 10F 3PATENTED FEB 1 8 I975 SHEET 20F 3 ICING GUN SYSTEM FOR DECORATINGCONFECTIONARY ARTICLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to a confectionary icing gun system for use in commerciallydecorating candies, cakes, figurines, and other fancy confectionaryarticles.

Prior to the present invention, icing decorations were commerciallyapplied to fancy confectionary articles by initially putting the icingmaterial into collapsible paper cones. The operator manually squeezedthe cone to push the icing material out through an outlet at the tip ofthe cone. The icing material typically is thick and viscous. Thus, itrequired a great deal of fatiguing effort on the part of the operator tosqueeze the cone as well as to move the tip about to produce the desireddecora tive patterns on the articles being produced. Substantial amountsof time were consumed in delivering the icing material in buckets to theoperator, removing the material from the buckets for filling the papercones, and interruptions occurred in using one cone until fullycollapsed and then replacing with a full cone, and so forth. I

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the advantages of the present inventionare those resulting from the fact that it enables an operator to producefancy decorations with much less fatigue and effort. Moreover, theoperator can work without interruptions because the icing material isfed directly from the buckets in which it is delivered. In using theconfectionary icing gun system as described, the operator convenientlysqueezes on a trigger lever to control the stream of icing materialbeing extruded out through the tip of the gun.

When the operator releases the trigger lever, the flow of icing materialis shut off. The valve mechanism near the tip of the gun acts to pullback somewhat on the stream of icing material which was previously beingextruded through the tip. Thus, advantageously, the flow of icingmaterial is shut off cleanly without subsequent dripping occurring fromthe tip of the gun.

In order to propel the icing material from the supply container to thegun apparatus, a substantial pressure is applied to the icing material.The valve mechanism in the gun apparatus is advantageously pressurebalanced such that the operator can readily actuate the trigger lever tocontrol the stream of pressurized icing material. Moreover, thebalancing of the valve mechanism is so effective that the flow of thepressurized material can be controlled over a wide range of flow rates,e.g. from a thin delicate stream to a thick gushing stream. Thesevariations in flow rates are used by the operator to produce manydifferent decorative figurines and decorative patterns.

Further advantages of the confectionary icing gun system of the presentinvention are that it is readily assembled and disassembled into itscomponent parts. All of these parts can be cleaned and sterilizedwithout injury to them.

As used herein the term confectionary articles" is intended broadly toinclude cakes, tarts, candies, fancy candy dolls or figurines, candydecorations, decorative objects, Christmas tree decorations, holidaydecorations, and the like.

The term icing material? is intended to mean a fluid material used todecorate such confectionary articles. The icing material is edible andusually contains sugar with other flavorings and food elements. Itusually has a thick viscous texture. After it has been applied to theconfectionary articles the icing material stiffens or hardens to producethe desired attractive decorative patterns.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The various aspects,objects and advantages of the present invention will be more fullyunderstood from a consideration of the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and a sectional view illustrating theconfectionary icing gun system as a whole;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational and partial sectional view of the gunapparatus, being a section taken on the plane 2-2 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view ofa clip used in the gun apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational and partial sectional view of the gunapparatus, being taken on the plane 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the trigger lever and valvemechanism in the actuated position for discharging a stream of icingmaterial from the tip of the gun;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are rear and side elevational views of a movable valvemember;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged elevational view, approximately actual size, of atoggle clamp for holding the lid on the pressurized supply container.Portions of the lid and container are shown in section;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the toggle clamp of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the toggle clamp mechanism takenalong the plane 9-9 in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fluid icing material 10 is placed in apressurizable chamber 12 in a metal container 14. This containerincludes a cylindrical bucket or pot 15 of stainless steel or aluminumhaving a support flange or skirt 16 adapted to stand on thev floor. Thebottom of the pot 15 is convex; so it can withstand internalpressurization without difficulty. There is a removable lid 18 held ontothe outwardly flaring rounded rim 17 of the pot by means of a pluralityof toggle clamps 20. This lid or cover is formed by a thick rigid plateof stainless steel or aluminum, and a sealing gasket 21 is seated in agroove in the underside of the cover to engage the rim 17. i

In order to propel the icing material 10 out of the container 14,compressed air is fed through a supply line 22 into the chamber 12. Thecompressed air passes through a pressure regulator 24 having a manualadjustment handle 25 and a pressure gauge 26. The air supply line 22 isscrewed into an inlet opening 27 in the lid such that the air enters theregion in the chamber 12 above the fluid icing material 10, therebypressurizing this material.

The cover 18 is equipped with a pressure relief valve 29 having a manualrelease knob 31. Pulling up on the knob 31 serves to discharge thepressure from the chamber 12.

There is a rigid outlet line 28 which is welded into the cover 18 andhas a length to extend down near to the bottom of the bucket 15, whenthe cover is clamped in place. This outlet line 28 is of relativelylarge internal diameter, for example one inch, to facilitate the flow ofthe pressurized icing material up out of the container.

A flexible hose line 32 of comparable inside diameter is attached to theupper end of the rigid line 28 by a screw coupling 30. A bending stressdistributing spring 33 surrounds the lower portion of the hose 32 nearthe coupling 30 to prevent the formation of sharp bends or kinks in thehose near this coupling.

The pressure of the compressed air in the chamber 12 above the surfaceof the icing material forces this fluid material up into the lower endof the line 28 and then up into the hose 32 as indicated by the flowarrow in FIG. 1. Depending upon the viscosity or fluidity of the icingmaterial, a greater or lesser pressure of the compressed air may beused. For example, this compressed air may conveniently be supplied by ashop air compressor with a capacity ranging up to approximately 100pounds per square inch gauge pressure (psig.). For most icing materialsa pressure in the range from 15 to 65 psig. is utilized in the chamber12, but other pressures may occasionally be used if desired.

The upper end of the flexible hose line 32 is attached by another screwcoupling 34 to the lower end of the hollow handle 36 of the controllablegun applicator 40. The gun applicator is shown in FIG. 1 in usecommercially applying decorative wave-like bands 44 to a cake 46 mountedon a turntable 48 which is revolved by a motor drive in the base 50 ofthe turntable. The operator squeezes the trigger lever 42 to increasethe rate of flow of the icing material from the tip of the gun, and viceversa.

As shown in FIG. 2 there is a hose reinforcing sleeve 37 within the hoseand a ferrule 38 which is crimped around the end of the hose near thecoupling 34. A similar sleeve and ferrule is used with the coupling 30.

The handle 36 (FIG. 2) has a hollow bore 51 which communicates directlywith the cylindrical space 52 within the barrel 54 of the gun. At theforward end of the barrel is a conical tip 58 havingan opening 56 of thedesired shape to produce the particular decorative pattern being made.For example, FIG. 2 shows a starshaped opening 56. The conical tip 58can be disconnected from the gun by unscrewing the threaded screwconnection 59 at the large end of the cone to replace the cone withanother having a differently shaped opening 56.

As shown in FIG. 4, in order to discharge a controllable decorativestream 61 of icing material from the tip opening 56, the operatorsqueezes the trigger lever 42 toward the handle 36, swinging the leverabout its pivot 60 against the action of a spring 62. One end of thisspring is held in an eye 63 in a bracket 65 secured to the handle. Thisbracket 65 has a pair of projecting parallel legs 67 which hold thepivot 60. The spring 62 passes around the pivot and its other end pushesoutwardly against the trigger lever 42.

As seen most clearly in FIG. 3, above the pivot 60, there is a yoke 64fastened to the trigger lever 42, with the two arms of this yoke 64straddling the barrel 54. Aligned pivot connections 66 located nearopposite sides of the barrel 54 pivotally attach the two arms of theyoke 64 to the forward ends of two legs of a U- shaped link 68. The twoparallel legs of link 68 extend rearwardly from the respective pivots 66to the rear of the gun. A back portion 70 of this link 68 extends 4across behind the gun and joins these two parallel legs together.

When the trigger lever 42 is squeezed, the yoke 64 and the two pivotconnections 66 are swung forward (toward the right in FIG. 4) pullingforward on the U- shaped link 68 and causing its back portion or bightto move forward. This bight 70 serves as means for actuating apressure-balanced valve mechanism 71 posi-' tioned within the barrel ofthe gun, as will be explained.

The pressure-balanced valve mechanism 71 includes a plunger at the rearof the barrel connected by a valve control rod 82 with a movable valvemember 84 located partially within the tapered nose 88 of the gun. Thevalve member 84 is tapered toward the front with a generally conicalconfiguration which converges at approximately the same angle as theinterior of the nose cone 88. A knurled band 86 on the member 84provides a grip to facilitate disassembly by unscrewing its threadedsocket 90 from the threaded front end of the rod 82.

For detachably fastening the plunger 80 to the bight 70, there is arounded socket 72 in the bight, and the plunger 80 has a rounded head 73which engages in this socket. A U-shaped snap retainer spring clip 74,as shown also in FIG. 2A, has a slotted front end 76 which snaps into agroove 78 near the head 73 of the plunger 80. The rear part 77 of thisclip fits down behind the socket 72. By pulling this clip off of thebight 70, the link 68 is conveniently disconnected from the plunger 80.

The plunger 80 passes through a central opening 92 in a breech plug 94which closes off the rear end of the barrel 54. A ring collar 96 holdsthis plug 94 in place. The collar 96 has a threaded socket 98 whichscrews around a threaded area at the rear end of the barrel 54. Theexterior of the collar 96 is knurled at 100 to facilitate assembly anddisassembly. A gasket 102 of sterilizable material such as Teflonplastic (polytetrafluoroethylene) fits between the rim of the plug 94and the end of the barrel 54 to seal the barrel space 52.

The breech plug 94 has a hollow boss 104 which surrounds the plunger 80,and a pin 106 extends transversely through the plunger 80. This pin 106engages in a pair of opposed slots in the boss 104 to prevent theplunger 80 from attempting to twist during assembly or disassembly, thusprotecting from torsional stresses a bellows 108 attached to the plunger80, as described below.

For pressure balancing the valve mechanism 71, there is a convolutedcylindrical spring metal bellows 108. The back end of this bellows issoldered onto an annular shoulder 110 in the breech plug 94. The frontend of this bellows is soldered onto the rim 112 of a flange 113 on thefront end of the plunger 80. The annular shoulder 110 and the rim 112have equal diameters (and their diameters are midway between thediameters of the interior and exterior convolutions) so that the effectof the pressurized icing material on the convolutions of the bellows 108is exactly balanced out. Thus, the icing material as it pushes on thebellows 108 per se does not tend to move the valve mechanism 71 eitherforward or backward.

The icing material does exert a rearward force on the projected neteffective cross-sectional area of the flange 113. This net effectivecross-sectional area lies in the circular band larger than the rod 82and smaller than the interior convolutions of the bellows 108.

Acting in the opposite direction, the icing material exerts a forwardforce on the valvemember 84. This valve member, as seen also in FIGS. 5and 6, includes a plurality of parallel guide fingers 114 extendingrearwardly from a radially extending shoulder surface 116. The parallelguide fingers 114 have cylindrical exterior surfaces so that thesefingers slidingly fit through a central aperture 118 in a disc barrier120. This barrier is made of slippery sterilizable resin, such as Teflonplastic.

To hold this barrier disc 120 in place, the nose 88 has a threadedsocket 122 which screws onto the front end of the barrel 54. The disc120 is thereby clamped against the barrel 54 and serves as a gasket toseal the barrel chamber 52. A knurled band 124 around the socket 122facilitates disassembly.

When the shoulder surface 116 of the valve member 84 is seated againstthe barrier disc 120, the flow of icing material is shut off. When thevalve member 84 is moved forward as shown in FIG. 4, the icing materialflows forward between the fingers 114 and through the aperture 118 intothe nose 88 and thence out through the conical tip 58 to form adecorating stream 61.

As shown in FIG. 6, the roots of the fingers 114 are enlarged near theshoulder surface 116 to narrow and taper down the spaces between thesefingers. Thus, a throttling action is provided as the shoulder surface116 approaches the barrier 120, because the flow spaces between adjacentfingers 114 progressively close off. In this way the operator caneffectively control the flow rate over a wide range to produce athinner, thicker or intermediate sized stream 61.

The balancing achieved by the rearward force on the plunger flange 113offsetting the forward force on the valve member 84 enables the operatorto move the valve member 84 easily and to control its positionaccurately without being hampered by the large forces generated by thepressurized icing material acting on this valve member.

An anti-drip action is also achieved. When the operator releases thetrigger lever 42 to shut off the flow, the conical valve member 84 isretracted within the conical nose 88. The tapering annular space 126within the nose cone 88 around the valve member 84 is enlarged byretraction of the valve member, as can be seen by comparing FIG. 2 withFIG. 4. The enlargement of the region 126 during shut-off motioneffectively pulls and sucks the icing material back into the tip 58. Thestream is shut off cleanly and neatly with no dripping, which is verydesirable from aesthetic and cleanliness viewpoints.

The toggle clamps 20 each include a notched block 130 (FIG. 9) screwedonto a threaded stud 132 mounted in the cover. A dog-leg shaped togglelever 134 has a finger hole 136 and is pivoted on a thrust pin 138passing through vertical slots 139 in the block member 130. The toe 140of the lever 134 pushes down against a bearing plate 142 located in thenotch 144 of the block 130. This bearing plate is held in place by aretainer pin 146.

The thrust pin 138 is fastened in a pair of parallel C- shaped clampelements 148 whose ends curve in beneath the bucket rim 17. A spacer in150 holds'the two C-shaped clamp elements parallel. To distribut theclamping pressure under the rim 17, there is a curved rod segment 152welded onto the lower ends of the clamp elements 148. This od segment iscurved, as

shown in FIG. 8, to nest in the curve beneath the rim.

To release the clamps 20, the handles 134 are swung up so that the toe140 slides along and off of the bearing plate 142, thus releasing thecover. If it is desired to tighten the clamping action of any clamp, anL- shaped retainer 149 (FIG. 7) is temporarily removed by loosening ascrew 151. The block is now freed to be screwed one or more turnsfurther onto the threaded stud 132, thereby tightening the clamp.Conversely, unscrewing the block 130 from its stud 132 loosens the clamp20. When the clamp tightness is properly adjusted, the L-shaped retainer149 is replaced.

The gun handle 36 is angled fowwardly as it meets the barrel 54 for acomfortable grip and to aid in forward flow of the icing material towardthe aperture 118. A hand rest or skirt 154 surrounds the handle beneaththe barrel and is attached to the bracket 65.

Referring again to the toggle clamps 20, they can be constructed in analternate manner. The notch in the block 130 is widened so that the twoC-shaped clamp elements 148 can be placed immediately adjacent to theopposite sides of the lever 134. By placing the clamp elements 148adjacent to the lever 134 the bending stress on the thrust pin 138 isreduced. This alternate construction thereby strengthens the clamps 20.

What I claim is:

1. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles with icingmaterial comprising a pressurizable container adapted to hold the icingmaterial, said container having a removable cover, clamp means forreleasably clamping the cover onto the container, an applicator gunhaving a tip opening for discharging the icing material onto theconfectionary articles to be decorated, a flexible hose line connectiblebetween the pressurizable container and the gun for feeding icingmaterial to the gun, a manually operable trigger on the gun, a movablevalve member which is exposed to the pressure of the icing material andis actuatable by said trigger for controlling the flow of icing materialout of said tip opening, and a second movable member in opposedrelationship to said valve member and connected to said valve member,said second movable member being exposed to the pressure of the icingmaterial for balancing out the effect of the pressure on said valvemember, whereby the valve member is readily controllable by saidtrigger.

2. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles with icingmaterial comprising a pressurizable container for holding the icingmaterial having a removable cover, means for releasably clamping thecover onto the container, an applicator gun having a tip openingfordischarging the icing material onto the confectionary articles to bedecorated, a flexible hose line connected between the pressurizablecontainer and the gun for feeding icing material to the gun, a manuallyoperable trigger on the gun, and valve mechanism in the gun operable bysaid trigger for controlling the flow of icing material out of said tipopening.

3. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 2, in which said gun has a hollow barrel communicating withsaid tip opening and said valve mechanism includes a movable valvemember located near the front of the barrel for controlling the flow oficing material from said barrel out of said tip opening, a plungerlocated near the back of the barrel and a control rod interconnectingsaid valve memher and said plunger, whereby the pressure of the icingmaterial on said movable valve member is balanced by the pressure ofsaid material on said plunger.

4. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 3, in which said hollow barrel has an opening therein at theback, said plunger extends out through said opening and is movableforward and backward through said opening, a flexible bellows isinterconnected between said plunger and the body of the gun, a fixedbarrier is located near the front of the barrel having an aperturetherein, and said movable valve member coacts with said aperture tocontrol the flow of icing material.

5. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 4 in which said movable valve member has a plurality of guidefingers extending through said aperture, said guide fingers havingspaces between them through which the icing material can flow in passingthrough said aperturev 6. An icing gun system for decoratingconfectionary articles as claimed in claim 3, in which said hollowbarrel has a nose tapering in a forward converging direction toward saidtip opening, a barrier extending across the barrel near the larger backend of said tapering nose, said barrier having an aperture therein, saidvalve member being movable forwardly within said tapering nose away fromsaid barrier for increasing the flow of icing material through saidaperture to said tip opening, and vice versa, said valve member beingretractable against said barrier for shutting off the flow, and saidvalve member also tapering in a forward converging direction within saidnose, whereby the space around said tapering valve member and withinsaid tapering nose increases when said valve member retracts againstsaid barrier, thereby sucking the icing material back into said space toprevent dripping of the icing material from the tip opening to provide aclean shut off when the valve member is retracted.

7. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 1, in which said gun has a hollow handle connected at anintermediate location with said hollow barrel, said flexible hose lineisconnectible with the lower end of said handle, said movable valve memberis positioned in the forward portion of the barrel in front of thelocation where the handle connects with the barrel, said second movablemember is positioned in the rear portion of the barrel behind saidlocation, and said second member is connected to said valve member by arod extending longitudinally within the barrel.

8. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 1, in which a rigid outlet line extends through said cover,said line commencing near the bottom of said container when the cover isclamped in place, and said flexible hose line being connectible to saidoutlet line outside of said cover.

9. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 7, in which said manually operable trigger is a lever extendingdown near the handle and having a pivot mounting below the barrel, ayoke is attached to the upper end of said lever having its armsstraddling said barrel, a U-shaped link has two parallel legs extendingalong opposite sides of said barrel with a bight extending behind saidbarrel, and said bight of said U-shaped link is operatively connectedwith said second movable member.

10. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 9, in which the back of said barrel is closed by a removableplug having an opening therethrough, said second movable member is aplunger extending through said opening, the bight of said .U-shap'edlink is detachably attached to said plunger, and a flexible convolutedcylindrical bellows is positioned within the rear of said barrel, saidbellows surrounding said plunger and being attached at one end to saidplug and the other end attached to said plunger.

1 1. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles asclaimed in claim 6, in which the smaller forward end of said taperingnose is threaded, and said tip opening is located in a cone removablyscrewed onto the threaded forward end of said tapering nose.

12. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles with icingmaterial comprising a pressurizable container for holding the icingmaterial having an outturned rim and a removable cover, means forreleasably clamping the cover onto the container, an applicator gunhaving a tip opening for discharging the icing material onto theconfectionary articles to be decorated, a flexible hose line connectedbetween the pressurizable container and the gun for feeding icingmaterial to the gun, a manually operable trigger on the gun, valvemechanism in the gun operable by said trigger for controlling the flowof icing material out of said tip opening, said means for releasablyclamping the cover onto the container including a member mounted on thecover having slots therein directed toward the cover, a dog-leg shapedlever pivotally mounted by a thrust pin extending through said slots,said lever having a free end adapted to be manually swung into a toggledposition and having a toe-shaped end on the opposite side of said thrustpin from said lever and being engageable down toward the cover to exerta force upwardly on said thrust pin in a direction away from the rim ofthe container, and C-shaped clamp means having one end engageablebeneath said rim of the container and having the other end pivotallyconnected to said thrust pin for pulling the cover down firmly againstthe container when said lever is swung into its toggled position.

1. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles with icingmaterial comprising a pressurizable container adapted to hold the icingmaterial, said container having a removable cover, clamp means forreleasably clamping the cover onto the container, an applicator gunhaving a tip opening for discharging the icing material onto theconfectionary articles to Be decorated, a flexible hose line connectiblebetween the pressurizable container and the gun for feeding icingmaterial to the gun, a manually operable trigger on the gun, a movablevalve member which is exposed to the pressure of the icing material andis actuatable by said trigger for controlling the flow of icing materialout of said tip opening, and a second movable member in opposedrelationship to said valve member and connected to said valve member,said second movable member being exposed to the pressure of the icingmaterial for balancing out the effect of the pressure on said valvemember, whereby the valve member is readily controllable by saidtrigger.
 2. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articleswith icing material comprising a pressurizable container for holding theicing material having a removable cover, means for releasably clampingthe cover onto the container, an applicator gun having a tip opening fordischarging the icing material onto the confectionary articles to bedecorated, a flexible hose line connected between the pressurizablecontainer and the gun for feeding icing material to the gun, a manuallyoperable trigger on the gun, and valve mechanism in the gun operable bysaid trigger for controlling the flow of icing material out of said tipopening.
 3. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles asclaimed in claim 2, in which said gun has a hollow barrel communicatingwith said tip opening and said valve mechanism includes a movable valvemember located near the front of the barrel for controlling the flow oficing material from said barrel out of said tip opening, a plungerlocated near the back of the barrel and a control rod interconnectingsaid valve member and said plunger, whereby the pressure of the icingmaterial on said movable valve member is balanced by the pressure ofsaid material on said plunger.
 4. An icing gun system for decoratingconfectionary articles as claimed in claim 3, in which said hollowbarrel has an opening therein at the back, said plunger extends outthrough said opening and is movable forward and backward through saidopening, a flexible bellows is interconnected between said plunger andthe body of the gun, a fixed barrier is located near the front of thebarrel having an aperture therein, and said movable valve member coactswith said aperture to control the flow of icing material.
 5. An icinggun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimed in claim 4in which said movable valve member has a plurality of guide fingersextending through said aperture, said guide fingers having spacesbetween them through which the icing material can flow in passingthrough said aperture.
 6. An icing gun system for decoratingconfectionary articles as claimed in claim 3, in which said hollowbarrel has a nose tapering in a forward converging direction toward saidtip opening, a barrier extending across the barrel near the larger backend of said tapering nose, said barrier having an aperture therein, saidvalve member being movable forwardly within said tapering nose away fromsaid barrier for increasing the flow of icing material through saidaperture to said tip opening, and vice versa, said valve member beingretractable against said barrier for shutting off the flow, and saidvalve member also tapering in a forward converging direction within saidnose, whereby the space around said tapering valve member and withinsaid tapering nose increases when said valve member retracts againstsaid barrier, thereby sucking the icing material back into said space toprevent dripping of the icing material from the tip opening to provide aclean shut off when the valve member is retracted.
 7. An icing gunsystem for decorating confectionary articles as claimed in claim 1, inwhich said gun has a hollow handle connected at an intermediate locationwith said hollow barrel, said flexible hose line is connectible with thelower end of said handle, said movable valve member is posItioned in theforward portion of the barrel in front of the location where the handleconnects with the barrel, said second movable member is positioned inthe rear portion of the barrel behind said location, and said secondmember is connected to said valve member by a rod extendinglongitudinally within the barrel.
 8. An icing gun system for decoratingconfectionary articles as claimed in claim 1, in which a rigid outletline extends through said cover, said line commencing near the bottom ofsaid container when the cover is clamped in place, and said flexiblehose line being connectible to said outlet line outside of said cover.9. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articles as claimedin claim 7, in which said manually operable trigger is a lever extendingdown near the handle and having a pivot mounting below the barrel, ayoke is attached to the upper end of said lever having its armsstraddling said barrel, a U-shaped link has two parallel legs extendingalong opposite sides of said barrel with a bight extending behind saidbarrel, and said bight of said U-shaped link is operatively connectedwith said second movable member.
 10. An icing gun system for decoratingconfectionary articles as claimed in claim 9, in which the back of saidbarrel is closed by a removable plug having an opening therethrough,said second movable member is a plunger extending through said opening,the bight of said U-shaped link is detachably attached to said plunger,and a flexible convoluted cylindrical bellows is positioned within therear of said barrel, said bellows surrounding said plunger and beingattached at one end to said plug and the other end attached to saidplunger.
 11. An icing gun system for decorating confectionary articlesas claimed in claim 6, in which the smaller forward end of said taperingnose is threaded, and said tip opening is located in a cone removablyscrewed onto the threaded forward end of said tapering nose.
 12. Anicing gun system for decorating confectionary articles with icingmaterial comprising a pressurizable container for holding the icingmaterial having an out-turned rim and a removable cover, means forreleasably clamping the cover onto the container, an applicator gunhaving a tip opening for discharging the icing material onto theconfectionary articles to be decorated, a flexible hose line connectedbetween the pressurizable container and the gun for feeding icingmaterial to the gun, a manually operable trigger on the gun, valvemechanism in the gun operable by said trigger for controlling the flowof icing material out of said tip opening, said means for releasablyclamping the cover onto the container including a member mounted on thecover having slots therein directed toward the cover, a dog-leg shapedlever pivotally mounted by a thrust pin extending through said slots,said lever having a free end adapted to be manually swung into a toggledposition and having a toe-shaped end on the opposite side of said thrustpin from said lever and being engageable down toward the cover to exerta force upwardly on said thrust pin in a direction away from the rim ofthe container, and C-shaped clamp means having one end engageablebeneath said rim of the container and having the other end pivotallyconnected to said thrust pin for pulling the cover down firmly againstthe container when said lever is swung into its toggled position.